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Joint Media Release

PARTNERSHIPS EMPOWER FAR-WEST NSW INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

6 April 2005 MIN 1077/05

Indigenous leaders across the Murdi Paaki region of western New South Wales have continued to play a major role in local decision-making through the signing of three Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) in Cobar this week.

The Chair of the Murdi Paaki Regional Council, Mr Sam Jeffries, and the Indigenous leaders of the region, met with governments at a two day governance workshop in Cobar, where the agreements were signed. The workshop was convened as part of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Whole of Government Indigenous trials.

The workshop was also a highlight of a visit to the region by the Australian Government Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson. As Australian Government lead Minister for the COAG trial in Murdi Paaki, Dr Nelson visited Broken Hill, Cobar and Bourke. Mr Andrew Cappie-Wood, Director General of NSW Department of Education and Training, and Ms Lisa Paul, Secretary of the Department of Education, Science and Training, also attended the workshop.

The three new SRAs add substantially to the momentum that the whole of government approach has developed in the Murdi Paaki region. The NSW and Australian Governments are continuing to work side by side, in an unprecedented way, to overcome the social and economic disadvantage experienced by the Indigenous people of far western NSW.

The three new Agreements focus on:

• Air cooling in the region (regional);
• Brewarrina Aboriginal Women’s Homemaker Programme (local); and
• Distance Education for Enngonia students (local).

Dr Nelson, acknowledging the importance of the partnership approach in Murdi Paaki said that, “strong and committed leadership within the local indigenous community has meant a real change in the relationship between governments and the people of the Murdi Paaki region. This is the opportunity we have to take if we are to make a difference to the social and economic wellbeing of the region’s Indigenous people.”

The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs have as a cornerstone, the need for governments to listen to the views of Indigenous people, and take these into account when taking action. The new regional Agreement presents a response by the Australian and NSW Governments to clear calls from Indigenous communities to address the environmental conditions in which many live. The trial of retrospective installation of evaporative air cooling units in community owned Indigenous housing is one step to improve the living conditions of people in the region. The initiative will include structured training in fabrication and maintenance for local Indigenous people.

Sam Jeffries, Chair of the Murdi Paaki Regional Council, said: “We have made some progress in the region through the COAG trial. But this agreement around improving the cooling in Aboriginal housing means a great deal to the local people. Temperatures in many of the houses in the region can get to well over 40 degrees for up to six months of the year. These are not conditions that are conducive to kids learning, or families functioning well.”

The local Agreement signed with the Enngonia Community Working Party provides distance education for local secondary students, who until now have had to travel 200km each day to do their schooling in Bourke, or go away to boarding school – an option not open to many in the town.

Carmel Tebbutt, NSW Minister for Education and Training, said that the importance of education to the Indigenous communities of Murdi Paaki is underscored by the fact that three of the five local agreements signed to date are focused on improving education outcomes for the region’s young people. “The new agreement with Enngonia goes some way to implementing innovative and flexible services that the community has called for, and will provide education through an outreach programme to students in Years 7-9”, said Minister Tebbutt.

The Ngemba women of Brewarrina benefit from their local Agreement through the establishment of a Homemakers/Healing programme, which has been developed to empower the Aboriginal women and contribute to the overall wellbeing of the Brewarrina community.

The SRAs and the workshop highlight the partnership approach that the COAG agreement is premised on – the basic principles of which recognise:

• Indigenous communities and governments must work together - in partnership - and share responsibility for achieving goals;
• Governments need to learn new 'whole of government' ways of working so that communities need not face the barriers of multiple programs from multiple agencies; and
• The process should result in communities being strengthened, with greater ability to manage their own affairs.

The workshops are effective forums for empowering Indigenous communities to better influence the region’s future and share successful governance practices.

The region has a large and dispersed Indigenous population, and the Cobar workshop provided a vital opportunity for representatives to come together and make joint decisions.


Media Contacts:
Mr Jeffries’ office: 0428 235 590
Dr Brendan Nelson’s office: Yaron Finkelstein 0414 927 663
Minister Tebbutt’s office: Brian Manning 0416 288 393

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